Vehicle door latch structure



Dec. 2, 1941. I H, w. RIGHTMYER 2,264,772

VEHICLE DOOR LATCH STRUCTURE Original Filed March 29, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR v M414,- ATTORNEYS Dec. 2, 1941. H. w. RIGHTMYER VEHICLE DOOR LATCH STRUCTURE Original Filed March 29, I93? 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR Holden W Rig/7 fmyer Mm ATTORNEYS Dec. 2, 1941. H. w. RIGIO-ITMYER 2,264,772

VEHICLE DOOR LATCH STRUCTURE Original Filed March 29, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR fio/aen l l/ filyhfmyer W, ATTORNEYS Dec. 2,1941; H. w. RIGHT MYER VEHICLE DOOR LATCH STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed M ardh ,29, 1957 INVENTOR f/o/aen 14 'q/77mye/ BY tip MM ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 2, 1941 d U NITED STATES VEHICLE DOOR LATCHtSTRUCT-URE Holden W. Rightmyer, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to The American Swiss Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application March 2-9, 1937, Serial No.

Divided and this application August 14,1929, Serial'No. 289,943

2 Claims.

This invention relates to-door latches butomore particularly to a door latch for vehicles, such as automobiles, and an object is to produce a simple and efficient keeper structure mounted on the door frame which cooperates with a latch bolt l to enable the door to be -easily vclosed, the keeper being so constructed and "arranged as continuously to urge the door into intimate engagement with-its "frame, thus insuring that the door will not only be held closed but also that-it will be oontinuously urged against the frame thereby militating against rattling and vibration of the parts when the vehicle is in operation.

Anotherobject is to produce a new and improved keeper structure for a door latch having the new and improved features 'of construction,

arrangement and operationhereinafterdescribed.

An embodiment of the .inventionis shown by way of illustration but not of limitation on the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation of an automobile door and its support showing the door vajar and showing in a general way the latch and keeper structures;

Figure .2 isra fragmentary transverse sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure l of a portion of the door and the body showing the rubber cushion against which the door is urged when in gagement with the rotor of the keeper;

Figure 6 is a sectional elevation substantially on the line 6-6 of Figure 4 showing a side edge view of a keeper structure;

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view on the line 1- of Figure 6, showingin dotted lines "the action of the dog releasing finger during the closing of the door;

Figure 8-is a plan View of the rotor;

Figure 9 is a sectional view on the line 9 of Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional view on the line Ill-It of Figure 5 showing an edge view of the spring tensioned arms which coact with the rotor;

Figures 11, 12 and 13 are perspective views of the three spring tensioned arms of the keeper respectively;

Figure 14 is a diagrammatic view-of the keeper Jarm'assembly;

Figures 15, 16 and 17 are diagrammatic views showing the successive operation of the spring tensioned arms indicating the manner in which they successively act'against arotor blade to impart movement to the rotor for urging the latch bolt and door to which it is secured into -intimate engagement with the dooriframe orrsupport;

'Figure 18 is analternate formers-keeper structure; Figure 19 is aside elevation of oneof-thearms and the '-:rotor showing diagrammatically the results secured by the use of notches formed in the V cam surface of thearms; and

Figures 20,21 and .22 .are diagrammatic views,

similar .to Figures '15, 16 and 1'7 respectively,

showing the position of the rotor andlarms in various positions of the bolt.

This application constitutes .a division of my application Serial No. 133,637, filed March 29, 1937, and entitled Vehicle door latch structure, matured into Letters Patent No.2,235,1'1'7, March .18, 1941.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention oomprisesla vehicle door It! havinga window I! which .is suitably mounted for swinging movements to andvfrom closed position relative to a .frame .or support I-Z. generally indicated at L and has a projecting bolt .nose l3 which coaots with the keeper structure K The latch mechanism is mounted on -a vertical edge of the support 12. From the outside of the door the bolt nose is is retracted by a handle Hi and on the inside of the door a handle i5 'is suitably supported by a bracket plate J6 and is operatively connected through themedium of an-elongate link I"! to the latch structure L. .It will be apparent to those skilled in this art that the bolt nose It maybe retracted by operation of the inside handle H5 or the outsidehandle M to free it from the keeper K.

Figure 2 shows in greater detail the swinging ldoor .l'll, such as used on automobiles, and which swings to and from engagement with the body or support 12. In this instance, a shoulder 18 is formed on the door H] and has a vertical face which abuts against a rubbercushion 5-9 which is ;L-.shaped in cross section, one portion of the cushion being engaged .by .-a surface 129 of the door and being wedged-tightly between that.sur- -face.and thebody. As .willohereinaiter appear, the door it is continuously urged into intimate engagement with the "cushion i9 thereby toeliminate rattle and vibration and securely hold the door closed.

The latch structure L which is best shown in Figure 3 comprises a case plate 2| having a flange 22 at the front edge which is apertured to receive the bolt nose l3. The bolt nose I3 is riveted to a bolt plate 23 which is urged to latching position with the latch bolt projected, by a spiral spring 24. The latch bolt is retracted from the outside of the door by the handle I 4 which has a shaft 25 square in cross section and which fits into the hub of a roll back 25. The roll back 26 engages a shoulder 21 on the bolt plate 23. The remote control link I1 is pivotally connected at its front end to a slide 28 which has a lost motion connection with the bolt plate 23 so that when the link I1 is moved to the right of Figure 1, the latch bolt is retracted against the force of the spring 24.

In this instance, the latch bolt may be blocked preventing it from being retracted by a dog 29 which is pivoted at one end to the case plate 2| at 39. The dog 29 has an inclined surface 3| which is adapted to engage the rear edge of the bolt nose l3. Adjacent the surface 3| is an inclined or cam surface 32 so that when the dog is free, retracting movement of the latch bolt operates to swing the dog upwardly out of operative position.

The dog 29 is retained in blocking position by the end portion 33 of the slide 28 which is shaped to snugly fit the dog 3|! and prevent or block its upward swinging movement. The case plate 2| is provided with an elongate slot 34 to receive a stud 35 which depends from the front end portion of the slide 28 and thereby guides the move-- ments of the slide. Disposed above the upper edge of the slide 28 is a lug 36 which is adapted to receive a portion of the thrust from the dog 29 when the slide is in position to block movement of the dog.

Riveted to the slide 28 is a finger 31 which is adapted to extend through an opening 38 in the flange 22 of the case plate when the slide 28 is advanced to block movement of the dog 29. The purpose of the finger 31 is to enable the bolt to be released upon shutting of the door. Thus, if the inside handle l were moved in non-boltretracting direction to advance the slide 28 into dog engaging position with the door open, unless some means were provided, the door would be locked and without the use of a key mechanism, the person would be locked out of the car. By providing the finger 31 which affords slam-unlocking, the dog 29 is automatically released when the door is slammed shut.

Attention is directed to Figures 6 and 7 which illustrate the operation of the finger 31 when the door is closed. Provided on the keeper structure K is a cam surface 39 against which the finger 31 engages when the door is closed. As the finger 31 moves along the surface 39, it is cammed inwardly as will be readily apparent.

The keeper structur K is generally shown on Figure 5 and comprises a housing 40 which is suitably secured to a vertical portion of the support or frame 2 which has been suitably recessed to receive it. Mounted on the housing 40 is a rotor 4| which is free to rotate upon a bearing pin 42a. In this instance, the rotor 4| has four equi-distantly spaced blades. The outer peripheral surface of each of th blades is especially designed to provide an arcuate cam surface 42 which has its highest point adjacent the forward edge in the direction of rotational movement for a purpose hereinafter described. In advance of this surface the forward portion of each plate has a bevelled surface 43 which provides a safety feature so that in the event that one of the blades is in the path of movement of the finger 31 when the latter is projected from the face of the latch supporting plate 2|, the rotor will be cammed out of the way by engagement between the bevelled surface 43 of the rotor blade and the inclined surface 44 formed at the outer end of the finger 31. An opening 44a is provided in the keeper housing 40 to receive the finger 31 when the latter is projected while the door is in closed position. The rear face of each of the rotor blades has an undercut or grooved portion 45 for a purpose which will hereinafter appear.

One of the blades of the rotor 4| is adapted to extend through an opening in the housing 40 in the path of swinging movement of the bolt nose l3 and when engaged by the bolt nose it imparts counterclockwise movement to the rotor (Figure 5). Coacting with the rotor 4| are a plurality of arms, in this instance three arms 46, 41 and 48 being provided. These arms are mounted on a common pivot 49 and are yieldingly urged toward the rotor by springs 50, one spring being provided for each of the arms. The structure of the arms 46, 41 and 48 is of utmost importance in order to obtain the desired result which is to urge the rotor in a counterclockwise direction after first being acted upon by the bolt nose l3 so that a continuous and uninterrupted force is exerted against the rotor for forcing the door against the rubber cushion H! with a uniform pressure. The advantage of this operation will be apparent in that even after the door is closed against the rubbercushion 9, a force is thereafter urging the door into more intimate engagement with such cushion. Thus the door can not only be closed easily and with practically no noise but in addition, it is much more securely held in closed position against rattles and vibration than in looks heretofore in use. The arms 46, 41 and 48, as will hereinafter be described, operate successively and uninterruptedly so that after the camming action of one arm has about become completed, another arm will have commenced its camming action and so on until th door is completely closed.

An examination of Figures 11, 12 and 13 will show the difference in contour of the several arms. Attention is directed to the arrow lines on each figure which indicate the points from which the arcs have been taken to arrive at the proper cam surfaces. In the form shown, the arm 45 is first brought into play. After the high point on the peripheral surface of the particular rotor blade has been passed by the arm 46, its cam surface is brought into play and through the force of its spring 58, a camming action is exerted against the engaged surface of the particular rotor blade. During this time, the arms 41 and 48 ride over the peripheral surface of the rotor blade. After the carnming action of the arm 46 is about completed, the cam surface of the arm 41 commences operation and then substantially at the time the camming action of the surface 52 is completed, the cam surface 53 of the arm 48 is brought into operation.

Attention is directed to Figure 14 which diagrammaticaly illustrates the manner in which the cam surfaces 5|, 52 and 53 coincide with each other. Thus, after the cam surface 5| has operated to cam the rotor 4| for a short distance, then Without any interruption in the camming action, the cam surface 52 of the arm 41 is brought into play and then without any further interruption, the cam surface 53 of the arm 43 becomes operative immediately after the surface 52 has been passed over. As above indicated, it is of real importance that the arcs of these cam surfaces coincide with each other to eifect a smooth and uninterrupted camming action against the rotor blade.

Preferably, the parts should be so constructed and arranged that when the door has been completely closed against the rubber cushion l9, all of the arms will not have expended their camming action but on the contrary, it is more desirable that some camming action of these arms or at least one of them be utilized to continuously urge the rotor in a counterclockwise direction so that pressure is exerted against the bolt nose thereby to secure more intimate engagement with the rubber cushion l9. Due to the jars and shocks of the Vehicle during road travel, the tendency is for the door to be urged even more tightly against its frame or support 32.

The face 56 of each of the blades of the rotor 4| which engages the bolt nose I3 is constructed at such an angle to the rest of the rotor that a sizable surface of the bolt will be engaged instead of merely a point contact (Figure 9). This is of advantage in reducing wear on the parts as much as possible.

The alternate form of keeper structure shown on Figures 18 to 22 is similar to that hereinbefore described and detailed description thereof is not considered necessary except in connection with the changes in construction. As in the above described form, three spring tensioned camming arms are employed, these being identified by the numbers 46a, 41a and 48a. These arms have camming surfaces similar to the surfaces 5!, 52 and 53 above described but on each of these surfaces are formed a series of notches 55 for a purpose hereinafter described. Also it will be observed that the arm fifia on its rearward or inner end is formed with an outwardly projecting finger 56 which is engageable with a lug 51 projecting laterally from the keeper housing. The engagement of the finger 55 and lug 5'! is of importance in preventing the spring which actuates the arm 46a from actuating it beyond the efiective camming period and imparting a force to the rotor Ma urging it in the opposite direction. It will be understood that the arm 46a is first brought into operation and unless some means is provided for limiting the pivotal movement of this arm after it has exerted its camming action against one of the blades of the rotor it will move inwardly against the preceding blade and impart thereto a force tending to turn the rotor in a direction opposite to that desired.

Referring to Figure 19, it should be noted that the notches, the number of which in each arm or blade may be varied as desired, are preferably shallow in order that they do not interfere materially with the camming action of the individual arms. It will be understood that the notches 55 successively contact a blade of the rotor against which camming action is being imparted and the grooves serve to prevent the rotor from being rotated or turned in a direction opposite to that desired for holding the bolt in its raised or closed position. It has been found that at times in cases where the notches have been omitted that if the force exerted by the bolt 13a, in a door-opening direction is sufficiently great, it Will cause the rotor to cam the arms out of the way and permit the door to be released from the rotor. The function of the notches 55 may be described as follows: on Figure 19 an are 58 is scribed from the axis of the arm 46a. The line 59 represents the arc of the cam surface of the arm 46a. It will be apparent that the are 59 in the direction of camming action of the arm 46a is of constantly increasing radii. It will be apparent that if the reverse force of the rotor 41a exceeds that of the spring acting against the arm 4611, it would be enabled to rotate in a clockwise direction (Figure 19) and guide the arm in a clockwise direction. However, to counteract this action, the pointed portion of the rotor Ma engages in one of the shallow notches 55 so that the force exerted by the rotor is directly in line with the axis of the arm Mia thereby preventing such reverse camming action. Each notch 55 should either be substantially tangent to the are 58 or extend inwardly toward the center of the axis so that the reverse force imparted by the rotor is substantially in line with the axis of the arm 45a. It will be understood that the above described action takes place in connection with the notches of each of the arms but the above description is deemed sufiicient. The action of the arms with respect to the rotor will be apparent from inspection of Figures 20 to 22 and except for the above changes in construction, the arms and rotor operate as hereinbefore described.

It is to be understood that numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and operation may be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A keeper for a vehicle door latch comprising a multi-bladed rotor, a plurality of spring tensioned arms mounted side by side upon a common pivot and adapted successively to exert a continuous camming action against a blade of the rotor, the cam surfaces of said arms being formed on complementary arcs from a center offset from the common pivot of said arms, thereby in succession and in the direction of camming effecting a continuous arc of increasing radii with respect to the common pivot point of said arms, and one or more notches in each of said arms adapted to cooperate with said rotor and keep it from being rotated in a reverse direction.

2. A keeper for a vehicle door latch comprising a multi-bladed rotor, a plurality of spring tensioned arms arranged side by side upon a common pivot and adapted successively to exert a camming action against a blade of the rotor, the cam surfaces of said arms being formed on complementary arcs from a center offset from the common pivot point of said arms, thereby in succession and in the direction of camming effecting a continuous arc of increasing radii with respect to the common pivot point of said arms, and a series of relatively shallow notches in the cam surface of each of said arms engageable by the rotor blade for militating against retrograde movement of the rotor.

HOLDEN W. RIGH'I'MYER. 

